"You've got to be kidding me, 7 years just for Alchemy?! This is the last prerequisite skill I need to be able to learn enchanting, 7 years is way too much just for a prereq!"

"Take it or leave it, kid. I don't give a damn about what you get out of this, but for me training an alchemist is an arm and a leg in materials, and the mistakes you make learning the craft are likely to kill people, so I couldn't care less if you think 7 years after finishing your apprenticeship is too much. That's what it'll take to make it so I can earn my money back, and if that's not good enough for you, then get your ass out of here. Dumbasses like you are a dime a dozen, there'll be another one of you here tomorrow asking for the same thing, and he's gonna get the same answer!"

"Ok ok, I see your point. 7 years really is too much for me, though. What about some books I can use to try and learn via self-study?"

"Kid the books never end, and if you try it that way you're just gonna kill yourself either trying to get ingredients, or after botching one of the tinctures or potions. Formal study is the only way to learn Alchemy."

"How long would it take, on average, to learn the actual skill and start working the time back off?"

"Depends on the student, but most take 2 years or so."

"Ok, so how about the prereqs? Maybe I could learn about the needed herbs and materials and lab safety procedures and so on. I should at least be able to start with some books on those, right? And then after I've read through those a few times, I could come back to get the hands on experience in an apprenticeship?"

"Hah. Yeah kid, sure. If you've got some coin I can get copies made of some primers. You're not fooling anyone, but you're welcome to get yourself killed if you really want to."

"Ok, how much to get a set of appropriate books?"

"Give me a week and come back with a gold."

"That's… A lot for some books. Why is it so expensive?"

"Cause getting the originals cost me an arm and a leg, that's why. No reason I can't make a bit of profit from making copies."

"Fine ok, I get it. Thank you. I'll be back in a week to pick up the books."

I didn't stay in the city while waiting that week. With less than 5 gold on hand I couldn't afford to waste it just for a comparatively comfortable bed, so I once again made a shelter a few hours away where I could stay for the week, and I continued trying to find a Necromancer.

Unfortunately for me pure necromancers aren't very popular while Saints, who are the most common tier 4 evolution which requires the necromancer skill, are very popular indeed, typically getting extremely preferential treatment for military and governmental roles.

Precious few Saints would deign to work as a freelancer, and fewer still would deign to train random people for the sort of money I am able to offer. I'd been thinking about it for a while, but I probably will have to agree to some sort of service period with a larger group if I want to gain the necromancer skill, and I do want the necromancer skill both because I want to be able to learn the diviner skills, and because I've already learned Infusion Priest and Healer, which would combine with Necromancer and Diviner to get the tier 4 Saint skill.

I don't want to work for a military or government but Saints are very popular, and frankly the self-buffing and healing components alone would be enough to make me want to increase those skills extensively, so it actually does make sense to pick up the extra skills and grow them as part of a Tier 4 skill for the extra attributes. I know it's a long shot, but I still throw 3 gold towards the training request, and I spent the week essentially sleeping in a ditch (hasty shelter) and doubling down on my attribute training since I'd hit a wall with skill training.

When the day finally arrived, I was able to collect a fat stack of reference books with a minimum of hassle. Skimming through them I confirmed what I'd suspected, that he'd try giving me reference books that were little more than lists of materials and their properties while trying not to provide me anything that would let me actually attempt any of the techniques that would allow me to learn any of the associated subskills. I'd expected as much, and was fully anticipating that I'd need to combine notes on drawing out certain material properties with inferences on processes from sections detailing lab safety.

Most of humanity is fairly forthcoming when it comes to skill acquisitions, but those skills which aren't as common are often deliberately so, often to create artificial scarcity and ensure personal well being. Keeping how to apply Aether to create some sword abilities a costly secret is simply not as effective when the prospective student can ask literally the next person he sees for comparable quality training.

For something like Alchemy though, where the market for temporary benefits is sufficiently limited that there's really only enough room in a market of 1,000 people for one or at most two alchemists? They have little interest in creating large quantities of competition for themselves.

It's ok. It'll be a long and painful slog, but this should be enough to get me started. Since thus far no one has taken up the training request for necromancer, I withdraw the request and collect the bulk of the money I'd had to leave as the offered reward.

Finally, I visit a building that I try to avoid religiously. Pun intended, because it's the church that I'm paying a visit to.